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skyeshark1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Dysphoria, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Violence, Transphobia, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
noyastan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Abandonment
readingrobin's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can always appreciate a story that has the greatest summer vibes, where there's this great sense of freedom and a time where you can reinvent yourself, which this book has in spades. Nima's journey is a crazy one full of family drama, romantic woes, and the utter sparkly whirlwind that is the drag scene. Throughout all that, though, it feels like such a grounded story and it's written in a voice that feels so honest and open. Nima's just a little bit awkward, a little bit guarded, and has just a little smidgen of gay panic when it comes to girls and, yeah same. The book doesn't really have any major rises and falls in terms of story, it's just a nice character driven story set at a nice steady pace throughout.
And oh my god, Deirdre, Nima's wonderful fairy dragmother is just a delight. Usually I would question the decision of a teenager letting an adult crash on their couch the night they met, but Deirdre gets a pass since she's a ride or die friend. She's such a wonderfully supportive figure who is loud, proud, and everything great in between without being forceful and constantly comes from a place of understanding.
Another thing that usually gives me pause in stories is age gaps between love interests, though I think here it's somewhat tolerable. I don't think we're ever given a definite age for Winnow, Nima's crush, but it's clear that she's older. For me, it never seemed like Winnow was trying to coerce Nima into a relationship, nor was she tapping into a power dynamic and was always checking in with Nima to make sure she was comfortable. There's a moment later in the book where Nima encounters someone a bit more manipulative and yeah, that got a bit too uncomfy for my taste. But, overall, her and Winnow was not the most egregious age gap romance I've encountered.
The book is chockfull of representation, whether through sexuality, gender, ethnicity, it's fairly diverse which made everything feel all the more realistic. It's a book that's a celebration of queer culture and identity, where sure there are moments of homophobia and intolerance, but that all gets drowned out when our characters are so easily met with acceptance by so many others.
There are some plot threads that ultimately end up fizzling out in the end, resolving either somewhat quickly without too much focus or are simply not brought up again. The book tries to take on a more realistic tone with this, showing that life is messy and not every part of our lives is going to have a happy ending, but there were a couple of points I wish we got to see get some kind of conclusion.
Ultimately, I would love to put this book into the hands of the younger people of the LGBTQ community, as I definitely needed something like this was I was that age. Just something so full of queer joy and self discovery.
And oh my god, Deirdre, Nima's wonderful fairy dragmother is just a delight. Usually I would question the decision of a teenager letting an adult crash on their couch the night they met, but Deirdre gets a pass since she's a ride or die friend. She's such a wonderfully supportive figure who is loud, proud, and everything great in between without being forceful and constantly comes from a place of understanding.
Another thing that usually gives me pause in stories is age gaps between love interests, though I think here it's somewhat tolerable. I don't think we're ever given a definite age for Winnow, Nima's crush, but it's clear that she's older. For me, it never seemed like Winnow was trying to coerce Nima into a relationship, nor was she tapping into a power dynamic and was always checking in with Nima to make sure she was comfortable. There's a moment later in the book where Nima encounters someone a bit more manipulative and yeah, that got a bit too uncomfy for my taste. But, overall, her and Winnow was not the most egregious age gap romance I've encountered.
The book is chockfull of representation, whether through sexuality, gender, ethnicity, it's fairly diverse which made everything feel all the more realistic. It's a book that's a celebration of queer culture and identity, where sure there are moments of homophobia and intolerance, but that all gets drowned out when our characters are so easily met with acceptance by so many others.
There are some plot threads that ultimately end up fizzling out in the end, resolving either somewhat quickly without too much focus or are simply not brought up again. The book tries to take on a more realistic tone with this, showing that life is messy and not every part of our lives is going to have a happy ending, but there were a couple of points I wish we got to see get some kind of conclusion.
Ultimately, I would love to put this book into the hands of the younger people of the LGBTQ community, as I definitely needed something like this was I was that age. Just something so full of queer joy and self discovery.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
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